Lying? Cheating? Stealing? All in a day's work for the ousted Washington coach
By PETE YOUNG
Published June 15, 2003
When the dust settles, deposed Washington coach Rick Neuheisel's tattered feelings likely will be assuaged by a hefty monetary settlement.
Meanwhile, the line of people who predicted such an ignominious end for Neuheisel could surround the perimeter of Colorado.
At Colorado in the late 1990s, Neuheisel was cited for 51 minor NCAA infractions while going a ho-hum 13-10 in his final two seasons. Nevertheless, he was whisked away by Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges in 1999, getting big bucks and claiming to have learned from his mistakes. She brushed aside his well-documented disregard for rules then shepherded him through more turbulence.
Like at Colorado, Neuheisel got off to a hot start before the hi-jinks ensued and losses mounted. The Huskies went 7-6 last season. Among the "Best of Neuheisel" antics: trying to lure his Colorado recruits to Washington; Washington coaches making illegal recruiting visits; lying about an interview with the San Francisco 49ers, a double breach of his contract, according to the Seattle Times; and the brain cramp that led to his downfall, participation in a $5,000-a-person NCAA basketball tournament betting pool.
Will Neuheisel get another chance? He has experience at big-time programs. He's charismatic and generally well-liked. The only question: Who's the next sucker?
A horse is a horse, of course, unless it was a horse named Spectacular Bid
Just as time sometimes expands a legacy, it mistakenly can contract the accomplishments of others. Some great athletes get shortchanged by historians and fans. In horse racing, perhaps the most underappreciated superstar has been Spectacular Bid, who died last week at age 27.
Bid came along at the end of the golden age for thoroughbreds and the Triple Crown. Bid's 1979 bid for Triple Crown immortality, however, was foiled by a safety pin that lodged in his hoof a few hours before the Belmont. He finished third.
Thus his name, if mentioned at all, comes after Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed. That's too bad because Spectacular Bid took a back seat to none. (Okay, maybe to Secretariat.)
Bid's resume is truly Spectacular. He won an astonishing 26 of 30 races, a higher percentage than Affirmed (22 of 29), Seattle Slew (14 of 17) and Secretariat (16 of 21). Besides the Belmont, two losses came in short distances early in his career, the other by less than a length to Affirmed. That's it. He won every other race, including all nine in his 4-year-old season. He holds the American record for 11/4 miles at 1:574/5.
Every horse has bad races. Sadly, Bid's off day, his prerace misstep, came at the worst time. Otherwise, his name would roll off the tongue with the greatest of the great, as it deserves to.
